The Constitutional Court (ConCourt) will hand down judgment on Friday, 8 May, on whether parliament blundered in handling the Phala Phala farm matter involving President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The ConCourt will deliver its judgment at 10am on the EFF’s bid to revive the matter. The party brought the matter forward in 2024.
ConCourt to rule at 10am on Friday
This comes after the National Assembly rejected the section 89 Independent Panel’s report on Phala Phala in 2022. This would have otherwise led to an impeachment inquiry.
In December 2022, the panel, led by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, found there was a prima facie case that Ramaphosa may have violated his oath of office in connection with the theft of more than $500 000 in foreign currency from his Limpopo game farm in 2020.
In a statement on Tuesday afternoon, the EFF said the judgment comes 521 days after the matter was argued in the ConCourt.
“At the centre of this case is the EFF’s demand that parliament must properly process and consider the section 89 report instead of allowing political interest and ANC majoritarianism to suppress accountability,” the party said.
EFF added that from the beginning of the Phala Phala matter, it has been the “lone and consistent” voice demanding accountability for the criminality, secrecy and abuse of power surrounding the scandal.
Phala Phala judgment comes more than 500 days after matter was argued – EFF
However, the African Transformation Movement (ATM) has written to Speaker of parliament Thoko Didiza, asking her to institute section 89 proceedings and calling for Ramaphosa’s impeachment following the 2023 Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) report.
Both ATM and ActionSA have been fervent in their efforts to release the report, which was initially classified as “top secret”.
“While many sought to protect Cyril Ramaphosa and preserve the image of the ANC, the EFF pursued every constitutional avenue available to ensure that no president is placed above the law,” the red berets continued.
“Throughout this period, the EFF undertook pickets and demonstrations outside the Constitutional Court demanding the finalisation of this matter.”
EFF leader Julius Malema also wrote to Chief Justice Mandisa Maya, raising concerns over the delay in the judgment.
“We await the judgment with the expectation that the Constitutional Court will ensure that the section 28 report is properly returned to Parliament for lawful consideration and accountability processes,” the EFF said.
Ipid report
The 2023 Ipid report found that Major General Wally Rhoode deliberately concealed the 2020 theft of $580 000 in cash from Ramaphosa’s farm after he informed Rhoode of the break-in.
A police case was opened only two years later, when Arthur Fraser publicly exposed the matter.
Ipid recommended disciplinary action against Rhoode and Constable Hlulani Rekhoto for failing to report the crime per South African Police Service (Saps) procedures.
Last month, the president denied involvement in any unauthorised investigation or the alleged cover-up. He said, “I had nothing to do with it”, and that institutions should be allowed to handle the process.
The Public Protector cleared Ramaphosa on an ethics complaint. The South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) also cleared Ramaphosa of wrongdoing in its investigation into the millions of undisclosed foreign currency that were stolen.
Additional reporting by Faizel Patel.
